November 20, 2009 - This preview of a forthcoming Commonwealth Fund report offers a summary and chartpack outlining the payment and delivery system reform provisions in the bills, as well as their potential impact on health expenditures. Also available is a chartpack from another upcoming Fund report on coverage and affordability provisions in the two bills.
Fund Report
November 20, 2009 - This statement from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System calls for a comprehensive, integrated approach to health system reform to reverse the negative trends in U.S. health system performance and provide a more secure future for U.S. families and businesses.
Other
November 13, 2009 - In this Commonwealth Fund issue brief, experts argue that the health care system as a whole would do well to emulate top-performing providers that embrace accountability for health care quality, outcomes, and cost. And they say the Medicare program—the nation's largest payer for health care—is the logical place to start.
Issue Brief
November 9, 2009 - A Commonwealth Fund–supported study in the journal Inquiry found that workers employed by small businesses are less likely than those in large ones to be offered health insurance. Administrative costs are a major reason why so many smaller firms do not offer health benefits to their employees.
In the Literature
November 6, 2009 - This Commonwealth Fund issue brief examines an unprecedented use of state health insurance regulatory authority to promote health system reform. In Rhode Island, regulators have used this authority to implement a set of standards to promote increased affordability through a series of requirements aimed at strengthening and expanding the state's primary care infrastructure.
Issue Brief
November 2, 2009 - In the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders survey, experts in health care and health policy say they favor strengthening Medicare's ability to help control program costs and support broader health system reform.
Data Brief
October 27, 2009 - In an attempt to control rapid growth in hospital costs, beginning in the mid-1970s seven states implemented rate-setting programs to regulate hospital payments. Although all but two have since been discontinued, these states' experiences offer lessons for policymakers as they continue searching for ways to control rising health care costs.
Issue Brief
October 23, 2009 - This report prepared by Commonwealth Fund researchers analyzes the similarities, differences, potential impacts, and costs of the three comprehensive health reform bills passed by key U.S. congressional committees. Also see interactive tables for side-by-side comparisons of the system reform and insurance provisions.
Fund Report
October 8, 2009 - As a companion to the 2009 State Scorecard, this report profiles seven health systems: six that rank among the top quartile of states—Vermont, Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin—plus Delaware, which was among the most-improved states from 2007 to 2009.
Fund Report
October 8, 2009 - The cost and quality of health care, as well as access to care and health outcomes, continue to vary widely among states, according to the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System's second state scorecard report. The states that led in the first state scorecard, released in 2007, generally continued to lead, often setting new benchmarks and widening the gap between leading and lagging states.
Fund Report
October 1, 2009 - This Commonwealth Fund-supported study of the state's health reform finds that employer-based coverage in Massachusetts has increased, as has the scope and quality of coverage as assessed by workers. However, some employees in small firms have seen a significant rise in premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.
In the Literature
September 11, 2009 - This morning, the U.S. Bureau of the Census released the alarming news that the number of uninsured Americans hit 46.3 million in 2008, up from 45.7 million in 2007. In this testimony before the U.S. House of Representative's Joint Economic Committee, Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis highlights the good and bad news in the new data and how it underscorces the need for health reform.
Testimony
September 8, 2009 - This Commonwealth Fund supplement to the September/October 2009 issue of the Columbia Journalism Review provides journalists and others with an evidence-based context for understanding how both lack of coverage and spiraling health care costs directly affect American families and businesses, and how comprehensive health reform can address these problems.
Other
August 20, 2009 - The rapid rise in health insurance premiums has severely strained U.S. families and employers in recent years. This Commonwealth Fund analysis of federal data finds that if premiums for employer-sponsored insurance grow in each state at the projected national rate of increase, then the average premium for family coverage would rise 94 percent by 2020.
Data Brief
August 13, 2009 - Henry Ford Health System is a vertically integrated health care system in southeastern Michigan whose leadership is committed to systemic integration, clinical excellence, and customer value through the core competencies of collaboration, care coordination, and innovation and learning.
Case Study